European commission tells other member states that Polish reforms put fundamental democratic values at risk

The EU has triggered a process that could ultimately see Poland stripped of voting rights in Brussels in an unprecedented step designed to force the country’s rightwing government to drop reforms the bloc regards as a threat to the country’s democracy.

The European commission has formally advised the other 27 member states that the legislative programme of Poland’s government is putting at risk fundamental values expected of a democratic state, including judicial independence.